The Denver Art Museum grew from the Denver Artists Club, founded in 1893, into one of the largest encyclopedic art museums between the West Coast and Chicago. Known especially for its American Indian holdings and Western American art, it developed through a series of expansions from early galleries and donated homes to its Civic Center campus. Its significance also lies in its architecture: Gio Ponti’s striking 1971 North Building, now the Martin Building, and the dramatic 2006 Hamilton Building made the museum a major visual landmark. Recent renovations further unified the campus as both a leading cultural institution and a defining feature of central Denver.